All Eyez on Him

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GQ: One of the poignant moments in your book is when you're hanging out with your grandfather on the porch. If he were with you now, what are some things you would ask him?

Marco : My sense is that he would be troubled by the promise that more government can deliver. I'm not making any comparison between Barack Obama and Castro from Cuba—but I was raised in a community of people who were told that if government had more power it could equalize things and it could give them more than others, and at the minimum undo some of the unfair things that had been done to them, and they were very skeptical of that given the experience that they had had.

GQ: You were obviously very moved by your grandfather's dignity and your father's dignity. What are the qualities that would qualify for a man to have dignity?

Marco : Ultimately, the dignity that my grandfather and father had was showing up every day and providing for their families. The challenges they faced were very basic. You know, I think I said it in the book a tough day for me is if I lose an election or get a bad story in the paper. A tough day for my dad was they might be late on the rent. A tough day for my grandfather might have meant his daughters didn't eat.

GQ: How old do you think the Earth is? Marco Rubio: I'm not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that's a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I'm not a scientist. I don't think I'm qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer that. It's one of the great mysteries.

GQ: You talk a lot to young Republicans. Recently I met a Republican who said, my kids are in high school and there's a prom. There's straight kids, gay kids. It's no big deal to them. And he says, my party, the Republican party, has to stop putting these social issues out there and talking more about stuff that effects people.Marco Rubio: I think that's unfair. A significant percentage of Americans feel very strongly about this issue. What I'm hearing is that it's ok for one side to express their view and the other side needs to be quiet. There are a very significant number of Americans that feel very strongly about the issue of life, about the issue of marriage and are we saying that they should be silenced or not allowed to speak or voice their opinion? There's a way to do that that is respectful and productive. There are things we'll always disagree on, but it doesn't mean we go to war over them or divide our country over them. We agree to disagree, but we continue to work together on the things we all know that we have to do.

GQ: Who's your best friend?Marco Rubio: My wife. We talk every day.

GQ: Besides your wife.Marco Rubio: [South Carolina Senator and Tea Party favorite]Jim DeMint. He's a great source of wisdom as a person who's had to make decisions that have made him unpopular in his own party. Jeb Bush is another guy I admire for his ability to analyze issues and call them for what they are.

GQ: Your autobiography also has to be the first time a politician has cited a love of Afrika Bambaataa. Did you have a favorite Afrika Bambaataa song?Marco Rubio: All the normal ones. People forget how dominant Public Enemy became in the mid 80s. No one talks about how transformative they were. And then that led to the 90s and the sort of East Coast v. West Coast stuff, which is kinda when I came of age. There's a great documentary on Tupac called Resurrection about the last few years of Tupac's life and how he transformed. And, ironically, how this East Coast rapper became this West Coast icon, back when all that Death Row/Sean Combs stuff was going on. Hip Hop's 30 years old now and it's crossed over and sort of become indistinguishable from pop music in general. You know, many people say Nicki Minaj is a rapper, but she's also a singer. Kanye's another guy who's also a rapper, but his songs aren't pure rap anymore. There's also all these collaborations going on, which confuses everything. You know you've got the guy from Miami, Pitbull, who's on TV selling a car and then he's advertising for Dr. Pepper.

GQ: Is there a song you play to psych you up before a vote in the Senate?Marco Rubio: I'm not like an athlete. The only guy that speaks at any sort of depth is, in my mind, Eminem. He's a guy that does music that talks about the struggles of addiction and before that violence, with growing up in a broken family, not being a good enough father. So, you know that's what I enjoy about it. It's harder to listen to than ever before because I have a bunch of kids and you just can't put it on. But in terms of psyching yourself up, I don't have time for that. You know you can't put on earphones and the storm the floor and vote [laughs].

GQ: So, Pitbull's too cheesy?Marco Rubio: His songs are all party songs. There's no message for him, compared to like an Eminem. But look, there's always been a role for that in American music. There's always been a party person, but he's a young guy. You know, maybe as he gets older, he'll reflect in his music more as time goes on. I mean, he's not Tupac. He's not gonna be writing poetry.